Louisiana abortionists can practice without hospital support, for now

BATON ROUGE – A federal judge on Aug. 30 temporarily blocked enforcement of a Louisiana law that requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

District Judge John deGravelles said he will hold a conference in 30 days to evaluate the progress toward obtaining admitting privileges and set a court date for his ruling on a preliminary injunction.

Three of the state’s five abortion facilities filed suit, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR).

The law requires all Louisiana abortionists to obtain admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their respective facilities.

Violators risk losing their medical licenses and a $4,000 fine.

The restraining order allows abortionists to continue to practice while they seek admitting privileges.

District Judge John deGravelles said he will hold a conference in 30 days to evaluate the progress toward obtaining admitting privileges and set a court date for his ruling on a preliminary injunction.

Women’s College Redefines “Women”

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – An all-women’s college in South Hadley, Mass., has expanded its definition of “women” with a new admissions policy this week.

Mount Holyoke College President Lynn Pasquerella announced in her convocation speech that the school would accept openly transgender students, including students who were born male but identify themselves as women.

The policy change comes after Mills College in Oakland, Calif., announced this summer it would accept “self-identified women” into its all-women’s school – the first single-sex college in the United States to publicly establish such a policy.

Traditional Marriage Laws Fall in Two More States

CHICAGO, Il. – A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously struck down traditional marriage provisions in Wisconsin and Indiana.

A constitutional amendment approved in 2006 by voters limited marriage in Wisconsin to heterosexual couples, while state law did the same in Indiana.

Neither state recognized same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Posner continued his extreme language in the court’s opinion on the case, stating, “homosexuals are among the most stigmatized, misunderstood, and discriminated-against minorities in the history of the world.”

The 7th Circuit is the third federal appeals court to reverse state laws on marriage.

California: All Health Insurance Must Cover Abortion

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Health insurance companies in California may not refuse to cover the cost of abortions, state insurance officials have ruled.

The decision is a reversal of policy stemming from the decision by two Catholic universities not to fund elective abortions through their employee health plans.

Although the federal Affordable Care Act does not compel employers to provide workers with health insurance that includes abortion coverage, California’s Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) Director Michelle Rouillard said in a letter to seven insurance companies on Friday that the state Constitution and a 1975 state law prohibits them from selling group plans that exclude the procedure.

Rouillard said her department had “erroneously approved or did not object” to a small number of health insurance policies that excluded abortions.

Doctors Study 17 U.S. Kids Born Using Three-Parent IVF Process

LIVINGSTON, N.J. – A New Jersey fertility clinic is investigating the health of 17 teenagers it helped to conceive more than 15 years ago using a controversial and rare IVF procedure involving three parents, according to the British journal The Independent.

The IVF procedure, called cytoplasmic transfer, involves mixing genetic material from two women and one man.

In 1996, the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science (IRMS) at Saint Barnabas Medical Centre in New Jersey started performing cytoplasmic transfer for women who were infertile because of genetic defects.

In 1997, the process resulted in the world’s first “three-parent” embryo.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the procedure in 2002.

Until now, no follow-up research has been done on any of the approximately 30 infants worldwide conceived using the process.

Cuba Cracks Down on Christians

HAVANNA, Cuba – Cuba’s communist government has increased its oppression of religious institutions, according to a Christian watchdog group, with reports of religious liberty violations almost doubling in the last six months.

According to a new report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), there were 170 religious freedom violations from the start of 2014 through mid-July. In 2013, there were only 180 incidents documented.

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Editorial

By Waylon Bailey
Jesus was a man of prayer, and He left His church to be a people of prayer.
One of the many things that stand out about Jesus was His devotion in prayer. Mark noted how Jesus prayed. At the beginning (Mark 1:35), middle (Mark 6:46), and end of the Gospel (Mark 14:32), Mark showed that Jesus … Continue Reading.